SUBMITTED TO:V P SANDLAS

DIRECTOR AISST

SUBMITTED BY:-

SAI SHUBHANKAR
ER.NO-A4717211003 AISST

Introduction

The setting up of the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station in 1963 marked the beginning of the Indian space program. The Space Commission and the Department of Space (DOS) were established by the Government of India in 1972 to promote unified development and application of space science and technology for national objectives. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was set up as the research and development wing of DOS and is responsible for the execution of India's national space program. The Indian space program has made pivotal strides, since its inception, and is comparable to the best there is in its areas of focus. It enjoys unflinching political support due to the space programs emphasis on applications for improving the quality of life here on Earth. In the early years, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, a scientist and a visionary who laid the foundations of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), demonstrated to the national establishment the benefits of a space program through an experiment in which he leased an American satellite to broadcast health and educational television programs to inexpensive ground stations in 5,000 remote villages of India.

IMAGE 1:- DR VIKRAM A.SARABHAI ,(LEFT) CHAIRMAN OF OF INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION(ISRO) AND HEAD OD INDIAS DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY AND DR. THOMAS O.PAINE,NASA ADMINISTRATOR SIGN AN
AGREEMENT TO COOPERATE IN AN UNPRECEDENTED EXPERIMENT USING A SPACE SATELLITE TO BRING INSTRUCTIONAL
TELEVISION PROGRAMS TO SOME

5000 INDIAN VILLAGES.

The major areas of focus of the Indian space program include:

Satellite communications for telephony, television broadcast, radio broadcast, mobile communications, distance education, satellite-aided search & rescue, meteorology etc., Remote sensing for resources survey & management, environmental monitoring and meteorological services, and Development and operation of indigenous satellites launch vehicles, and ground systems for providing these services. India has successfully launched, operated and utilized several generations of its two indigenously developed satellite systems: INSAT (Indian National Satellite) multipurpose satellite system for telecommunications, television and radio broadcasting, meteorology, and disaster warning; and IRS (Indian Remote Sensing) satellite system for earth observation applications, mainly resource monitoring and management.
ISRO has demonstrated world-class capabilities in successfully and repeatedly launching multiple classes of Expendable Launch Vehicles (ELV). The PSLV and GSLV are the latest ELV workhorses. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is used for launching IRS satellites, and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), is used for launching the INSAT class of satellites.

Antrix Corporation Limited (Antrix), ISROs commercial arm, has launched commercial payloads on the PSLV for a series of clients and accomplished its first fully commercial launch for the Italian satellite AGILE in April 2007.

The Satellite Systems

ISRO has established two major space systems, the INSAT (Indian National Satellite System) series for communication, television broadcasting and meteorological services, and Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) system for resources monitoring and management. As of January
2008, India has ten operational remote sensing satellites including CARTOSAT-1, 2, and 2A. CARTOSAT-2 has a resolution of 1 meter. ISRO is building CARTOSAT-3, a satellite that can shoot images with one-third of a meter resolution. ISRO has developed two satellite launch vehicles, PSLV and GSLV, to place INSAT and IRS satellites in their required orbits.

Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) System

Commissioned with the launch of IRS-1A in March 1988 IRS system under National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS) coordinated at national level by the Planning Committee of NNRMS (PCNNRMS). At present has four satellites, IRS-1B launched in August 1991, IRS-1C launched in December 1995 and IRS-1D launched on September 29, 1997. IRS-P3 and IRS-1D launched by India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). OCEANSAT-1 with an Ocean Color Monitor (OCM) and a Multi-frequency Scanning Microwave Radiometer (MSMR) launched by PSLV-C2. RESOURCESAT-1 for agricultural applications launched by PSLV-C5. CARTOSAT-1 with a Very High Resolution Panchromatic camera for cartographic applications launched by PSLV-C6 Data from IRS satellites received and processed by the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Hyderabad. Space Imaging (SI) a US Company also receives and markets IRS data worldwide under a commercial contract with Antrix Corporation, ISROs commercial arm. CARTOSAT-2 launched on January 10, 2007 by PSLV-C7, as an advanced Remote Sensing Service carrying Panchromatic camera capable of providing scene specific spot imageries for cartographic applications to satellite as high agility.

Indian National Satellite (INSAT) System

Established in 1983 with commissioning of INSAT-1B. A joint venture of Department of Space (DOS), Department of Telecommunications, India Meteorological Department, All India Radio and Doordarshan. DOS responsible for establishment and operation of INSAT . INSAT space segment at present consists of INSAT-1D, last of the INSAT-1 series launched in 1990 and three ISRO-built satellites, INSAT-2A launched in July 1992, INSAT-2B launched in July 1993 and INSAT-2C launched on December 7, 1995. INSAT-2DT acquired from ARABSAT. INSAT-2E launched on April 3, 1999. ISRO has leased eleven 36 MHz equivalent units of C-band capacity on board INSAT-2E to INTELSAT organization. INSAT-3B launched on March 22nd 2000. INSAT-3C launched on January 24th 2002. Kalpana launched on September 12th 2002. INSAT-3A launched on April 10th 2003. GSAT-2 launched on May 8th 2003. INSAT-3E launched on September 28th 2003. EDUSAT launched on September 20th 2004. INSAT-4A launched on December 22nd 2005. INSAT-4B launched on March 12th 2007. INSAT-4C-R launched on September 2nd 2007.

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System - GAGAN

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has decided to implement an indigenous Satellite-Based Regional GPS Augmentation System also known as Space-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) as part of the Satellite-Based Communications, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS)/Air Traffic Management (ATM) plan for civil aviation. A national plan for satellite navigation including implementation of Technology Demonstration System (TDS) over the Indian air space as a proof of concept has been prepared jointly by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and ISRO. TDS is the first step towards implementing an operational SBAS system.

The Launch Vehicle Fleet

ISRO has successfully developed a complete array of launch vehicles, Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) launchers like SLV-3 (Satellite Launch Vehicle), ASLV (Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle), PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and the GSLV (Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle). ISRO also makes the Rohini series of sounding rockets used by the Indian and international scientific community to launch payloads to various altitudes for atmospheric research and other scientific investigations.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)

The PSLV is used to launch India's remote sensing satellites. It has also been used for secondary payload launches for several countries including Germany, Belgium, South Korea, Indonesia, Argentina, Israel, Canada, Denmark, Japan, and the Netherlands. Its first dedicated

launch for a foreign client took place in April 2007 when it launched the Italian satellite AGILE. The PSLV developmental flights were completed with the successful third developmental launch in March 1996. It

fully operational version is used for launching 1,000 - 1,200 kg class of remote sensing satellites into polar sunsynchronous orbit. A new variant of the PSLV called the PSLV-XL is being developed for the launch of the first Indian lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1, scheduled to launch
in the summer of 2008.

IRS-1D launched on September 29, 1997. IRS-P4 (OCEANSAT) and two small satellites (KITSAT of Korea and TUBSAT of Germany) launched on May 26, 1999 by PSLV-C2. PSLV-C3 launched three satellites -- Technology Experiment Satellite

(TES) of ISRO, BIRD of Germany and PROBA of Belgium - into their intended orbits on October 22, 2001. ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C4 launched KALPANA-1 satellite on September 12, 2002. ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C5 launched RESOURCESAT-1 (IRS-P6) satellite on October 17, 2003. ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C6 launched CARTOSAT1 and HAMSAT satellites on May 5, 2005. ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C7 launched CARTOSAT2 SRE-1 & LAPAN -TUBSAT of Indonesia, Nano - PEHUENSAT-1 of Argentina on January 10, 2007 ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C8 launched Commercial Satellite AGILE of Italy on April 23, 2007 ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C10 launched Commercial Satellite TESAR of Israel on January 21, 2008. ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C9 launched CARTOSAT2A, IMS-1 and eight nano-satellites on April 28, 2008.

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)

The GSLV is meant for launching 2,000 kg class of

communication satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbit.

It is a three stage vehicle: first stage is a 129 ton solid propellant core motor with four liquid propellant strap-ons with 40 ton propellant each, second stage is a liquid propulsion system with 37.5 ton propellant and the upper stage is a cryogenic system with 12 ton of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.

ISRO is also developing the next generation GSLV that will be able to launch larger INSAT satellites in the 4 metric ton category. India's current generation of INSAT satellites weigh around 2 to 3 metric tons. GSLV Mk 3 will also be capable of placing 10 ton payloads into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The GSLV Mk 3 is slated to make its first developmental flight in 2008.

DEVELOPMENT OF GSLV
First developmental flight GSLV-D1 completed with successful launch on April 18, 2001. Second developmental flight GSLV-D2 launched GSAT-2 satellite on May 8, 2003. First operational flight of GSLV (GSLV-F01) and the third in the GSLV series launched EDUSAT satellite on September 20, 2004. GSLV-F02 launched INSAT-4C on July 10, 2006. GSLV-F04 launched INSAT-4CR on 2 September, 2007. First developmental flight of the GSLV Mk3 in 2008-2009

The Ground Segment

ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) provides mission support to Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites as well as launch vehicle missions. ISTRAC has its headquarters and a multi-mission Spacecraft Control Centre at Bangalore. It has a network of ground stations at Bangalore, Lucknow, Sriharikota, Port Blair and Thiruvananthapuram in India besides stations at Mauritius, Bearslake (Russia), Brunei and Biak (Indonesia). ISTRAC activities are organized into network operations, network augmentation, mission operation and spacecraft health monitoring, communications andprojects. computers and control centre facilities and development Program planning and reliability groups support ISTRAC activities. ISTRAC also operates the Local User Terminal/Mission Control Centre (LUT/MCC) under the international program for satelliteaided search and rescue. ISTRAC has also set up an Indian Deep Space Tracking Network station at Bangalore for Indias mission to moon, Chandrayaan-1. In addition to ISTRAC, there is the Master Control Facility (MCF) located in Hassan, Karnataka and Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

Technology Commercialization via ANTRIX Antrix Corporation Limited, the commercial arm

of Department of Space (DOS) was incorporated in September 1992 for the promotion and commercial exploration of products and services from the Indian Space Program. Antrix markets space products

and services to global customers, based on an impressive array of achievements and developments over past four decades in Indian space program.

Antrix draws upon its strength and the heritage from the experience and proven scientific achievements of the Indian space program over the past four decades.

In pursuit of achieving significant market presence in the global market, Antrix has been investing efforts towards marketing space products and services, particularly the remote sensing

data and services.

Significant inroads have been made in the marketing of INSAT transponder capacity for applications encompassing TV broadcasting, VSAT, DSNG etc. There continues to be sustained interest for Direct-To-Home (DTH) services, which is the leading market driver for transponder capacity. Antrix has provided a string of successful PSLV launches for a number of foreign clients, the most recent being the successful launch of a cluster of ten satellites, two of them Indian, including the primary payload CARTOSAT-2A; the rest were pico- and nano-satellites from countries such as Japan, Canada, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.

The Budget
Space is a national priority for India and has always received strong and unflinching political support because of its continuing success in improving
the quality of life of the Indian population in the cities to the remotest parts of the country. Space is seen as a catalytic investment. ISRO awards contracts and funding to a large number of Indian industries that supply hardware and software to ISRO. ISRO also supports those who provide value-added services using satellites and other space infrastructure. Therefore, over the years India's space budget has increased at a consistent pace.($1 billion)

Primary drivers of the budget hikes include: Design, development, launch of new earth observation satellites onboard the PSLV Design, development, launch of new INSAT satellites onboard Ariane-5 Development of the next generation of INSAT satellites in the 4 metric ton class Development of the next generation Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV Mk 3 Development and testing of the atmospheric re-entry demonstrator capsule SRE Development of Indias navigation system called GAGAN Design, development of the Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission

Space Applications
"There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purposewe are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society. "
Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, Founder of the Indian Space Program As envisioned by Dr. Sarabhai, the founder of the space program, India has taken a pragmatic and grass-roots approach to utilization of its space infrastructure. Communication and earth observation satellites, together with ground infrastructure provide value-added services to the Indian people for:

agriculture, soil conservation, fisheries, forestry, mining, water resources management, oceanography, urban planning, infrastructure development, environmental studies, utilities management, rural development, public health, tele-education & training, satellite-aided search and rescue, disaster warning and mitigation etc.
This section briefly describes some tele-education, and fisheries initiatives, for the sake of illustration

tele-medicine,

MAJOR SPACE CENTERS

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC)
VSSC at Thiruvananthapuram is the lead centre for the development of satellite launch vehicles and associated technologies. The centre pursues research and development in the fields of aeronautics; avionics; composites; computer and information; control, guidance and simulation; launch vehicle design; mechanical engineering; mechanisms, vehicle integration and testing; propellants, polymers, chemicals and materials; propulsion, propellants and space ordnance; and systems reliability. Program planning and evaluation, technology transfer and industrial coordination, human resources development, safety and personnel and general administration groups support the centre. An Ammonium Perchlorate Experimental Plant (APEP) has been set up by VSSC at Aluva in Kerala. The Space Physics Laboratory at VSSC carries out research in atmospheric and related space sciences. The major programs at VSSC include: Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), Rohini Sounding Rocket, Space-capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE), Reusable Launch Vehicles and Air Breathing Propulsion.

ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC)

ISAC at Bangalore is engaged in developing satellite technology and implementation of satellite systems for scientific, technological and application missions. ISAC is functionally organized into five major areas: mechanical systems area including structures, thermal systems and spacecraft mechanisms; digital and communications area including digital systems and communication systems; integration and power area comprising spacecraft checkout, systems integration and power systems; controls and mission area consisting of control system, mission development and computer and information facilities.

Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR

SDSC SHAR, with two launch pads is the main launch centre of ISRO and has facilities for solid propellant processing, static testing of solid motors, launch vehicle integration and launch operations, range operations comprising telemetry, tracking and command network and mission control centre. Management service group, advanced engineering group,
reliability and Sriharikota Common Facilities support the centre.

Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC)

LPSC is the lead centre in the development of liquid and cryogenic propulsion for launch vehicles and satellites. The activities are spread across Thiruvananthapuram, Mahendragiri and Bangalore. LPSC at Thiruvananthapuram

carries out design and system engineering of earth storable and cryogenic engine and stages for launch vehicles, design and development of bipropellant thrusters and electric propulsion thrusters for spacecraft, control components and control systems. LPSC, Mahendragiri carries out assembly, integration and testing of earth storable and cryogenic engines and stages, high altitude testing of upper stage engine and spacecraft thrusters, as well as testing of subsystems. This centre also has facilities for storage of earth storable and cryogenic propellant including an Integrated Liquid Hydrogen Plant. LPSC at Bangalore carries out design, development and testing of propulsion systems for spacecraft. It also carries out transducer design and development.

Space Applications Centre (SAC)

SAC at Ahmedabad is engaged in the development of payloads for communication, meteorological and remote sensing satellites. SAC also carries out research and development on various space applications program. The activities are grouped under microwave systems,

satellite communication applications, sensor developments, image and information processing and remote sensing applications. Program planning group, systems reliability group and library and documentation group support the centre. SAC also operates Delhi Earth Station (DES) for satellite
communication.

Regional Remote Sensing Service Centers (rrssc)

Five RRSSCs have been established by DOS at Bangalore, Jodhpur, Kharagpur, Dehradun and Nagpur. RRSSCs support various remote sensing tasks specific to their regions as well as at the national level. RRSSCs participate actively in areas like disaster management, software development, agro-climatic planning, national drinking water mission, national resources census, large scale mapping, etc, besides taking up projects for various ministries and departments.

Antrix Corporation Limited

The Antrix Corporation Limited, Bangalore is the marketing agency under DOS with access to resources of DOS as well as Indian space industries. Antrix markets subsystems and components

for satellites, undertakes contracts for building satellites to user specifications, provides launch services and tracking facilities and organizes training of manpower and software development.

Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL)

The administrative control of Semi-Conductor Complex Limited, Chandigarh,was re-structured by DOS for research and development society in November 2005. SCL is entrusted with design and development of Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) devices and development of systems for telecommunication and space sectors. SCL has facilities for fabrication of micro-electronic devices in 0.8 micron range and Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS).

ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU)

IISU at Thiruvananthapuram carries out research and development in inertial sensors and systems and allied satellite elements. IISU is organized into research and development groups in the areas of launch vehicle inertial systems, spacecraft inertial systems, inertial system production and reliability and quality assurance. It has facilities for precision fabrication, assembly, clean room and integration and testing.

Laboratory for Electro-Optic Systems (LEOS)

LEOS at Bangalore carries out research and development in the field of electro-optic sensors and cameras required for satellites and launch vehicles

National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA)

NRSA at Hyderabad is an autonomous institution under DOS. The agency is responsible for remote sensing satellite data acquisition and processing, data dissemination, aerial remote sensing and decision support for disaster management. NRSA has set up data reception station at Shadnagar near Hyderabad for acquiring data from Indian remote sensing satellites as well as others.

ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC)

vehicle missions.

ISTRAC provides mission support to low-earth orbit satellites as well as launch

ISTRAC has its headquarters and a multi-mission Spacecraft Control Centre at Bangalore. It has a network of ground stations at Bangalore, Lucknow, Sriharikota, Port Blair and Thiruvananthapuram in India besides stations at Mauritius, Bearslake (Russia), Brunei and Biak (Indonesia). ISTRAC activities
are organized into network operations, network augmentation, mission operation and spacecraft health monitoring, communications and computers and control centre facilities and development projects. Program planning and reliability groups support ISTRAC activities. ISTRAC also operates the Local User Terminal/Mission Control Centre (LUT/MCC) under the international program for satellite-aided search and rescue. ISTRAC has also set up an Indian Deep Space Tracking Network station
at Bangalore for Indias mission to moon Chandrayaan-1.

Physical Research Laboratory (PRL)

PRL at Ahmedabad, is an autonomous institution supported mainly by DOS. It is a premier institute engaged in basic research in experimental and theoretical physics, astronomy and astrophysics, earth, planetary and atmospheric sciences.

FUTURE SPACE MISSION:Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-II)

It aims at realizing a fully recoverable capsule and provide a platform to conduct microgravity experiments on Micro-biology, Agriculture, Powder Metallurgy, etc. SRE-2 is to be launched onboard PSLV-C19 in 2010 - 11.

Aditya-1

Aditya is First Indian space based Solar Coronagraph developed to study the solar Corona in
visible and near by Infrared (IR) bands. It is planned to be
launched during the next high solar activity period ~ 2012. Its core objectives are to study the Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) and consequently the crucial physical parameters for space weather such as the coronal magnetic field structures, evolution of the coronal magnetic field etc. This will give us completely new information on the velocity fields and their variability in the inner corona having an important bearing on the unsolved problem of heating of the corona would be obtained.

Chandrayaan-2

Chandrayaan-2 mission is planned to have an orbiter/lander/rover configuration. It is expected to be released by 2012 - 13. The mission aims at improving our understanding of origin and evolution of the Moon using onboard instruments - Orbiter and in-situ analysis of lunar samples and studies of lunar regolith properties (remote & direct analysis) using Robots/Rovers.

YOUTHSAT

It is a participatory scientific mission with payloads from both Russia and India. It would be carrying three scientific payloads one from Russia and two from India. It is a micro satellite carrying scientific payloads with participation from universities at graduate, postgraduate and research scholar level and would participate from testing of the payloads in laboratory to the utilization of the data from payloads. Participation of young scientists will popularize interest in space related activities and provide opportunities for realization of future scientific payloads at the university level. YOUTHSAT is planned to be launched along with IRS satellite, as a auxiliary satellite during 2010 with an orbital altitude of 630 km at an inclination of 97.9.

Reusable Launch Vehicle

In the near future, the most technologically innovative of ISRO's projects is its scramjet Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) RLV, named Avatar. Lowering launch costs via an RLV has, of course, been the unattainable holy grail for both the United States and Russian space programs. Avatar would weigh only 25 metric tons, with 60 percent of that the liquid hydrogen needed to fuel the turbo-ramjet engines that would power its initial aircraft-style takeoff from an airstrip and its ascent to a cruising altitude. Thereafter, Avatar's scramjet propulsion system would cut in to accelerate it from Mach 4 to Mach 8, while an onboard system would collect air from which liquid oxygen would be separated. That liquid oxygen would then be used in Avatar's final flight phase, as its rocket engine burned the collected liquid oxygen and the remaining hydrogen to enter a 100-kilometer-high orbit. ISRO claims that Avatar's design would enable it to achieve at least a hundred reentries into the atmosphere. Theoretically, given ISRO's plans for it to carry a payload weighing up to one metric ton, Avatar could thus deliver a 500-to-1,000-kilogram payload into orbit for about $67 per kilogram.

Robotic Exploration
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is also planning

Chandrayaan-2 for launch in 2014. Russia's Federal Space

Agency (Rosaviakosmos) has signed a bi-lateral agreement with ISRO for collaborating on the Chandrayaan-2 Lander/Rover mission. Chandrayaan-2 will consist of a spacecraft and a landing platform with a Moon rover. The rover would rove on the lunar surface, pick up samples of soil or rocks, conduct in-situ chemical analyses and send the data back to the orbiting spacecraft. The rover is expected to weigh between 30 kg and 100 kg, depending on whether it will do a semi-hard or soft landing. The rover will have an operating lifespan of a month. It will run predominantly on solar power.

In addition to the lunar robotic missions, Indian scientists are also planning a robotic mission to Mars by 2016.

Moon Rover

INDIAS MANNED MISSION

On August 9, 2007 the then Chairman of the ISRO, G. Madhavan Nair, indicated the agency is "seriously considering" a human spaceflight mission. He further indicated that within a year ISRO would report on its development of new space capsule technologies. Development of a fully autonomous orbital vehicle to carry 2 member crew into a low Earth orbit has already begun. ISRO sources said the flight is likely to be in 2016. Government had allocated 95 crore (US$21.2 million) for pre-project initiatives for 2007 through 2008. A manned mission into space would require about 12,400 crore (US$2.8 billion) and a period of seven years. Planning Commission estimates that a budget of 5,000 crore (US$1.1 billion) is required for initial work on the manned mission during the 11th five year plan (200712). A project report prepared by ISRO has been cleared by space commission.In February 2009 the Government of India has given the green signal for the Manned Space flight Program due to launch in 2016.

MC Dathan, director of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) stated that ISRO will set up a fullfledged training facility in Bangalore for training astronauts. ISRO is also planning to build a third launch pad at Sriharkota for manned missions with extra facilities like entry into the crew capsule and an escape chute. The trials for the manned space missions began with the 600 kg Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE), launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket, and safely returned to earth 12 days later. This demonstrates India's capability to develop heat resistant materials necessary for reentry technology.